


Goodbye/Hello

by INFJgamer



Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-06
Updated: 2018-04-06
Packaged: 2019-04-19 03:33:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14228271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/INFJgamer/pseuds/INFJgamer
Summary: A grieving Peebee is comforted by an old friend.





	Goodbye/Hello

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed it.

Peebee can’t decide how much of her headache is the hangover and how much of it is down to the crying. The pain in her head isn’t doing much to drown out the deep seated ache in her heart. It’s battered, bruised and broken from one goodbye too many. For a while now she’s felt that the whole living for centuries thing is overrated.

She's been in Andromeda for nearly a hundred years. The first few decades had been amazing with new worlds to find and discoveries to be made. She’d gotten enough degrees in Angaran history and archeology to give Lexi an run for her money. She’s known on the campus as the cool Professor that has the best field trips. She loves teaching, spreading her passion to the next generation of historians and archaeologists, the problem is when you're an Asari you out live some of your students. It was this very problem that had made Peebee drink enough tequila to kill a small Eiroch.

Officially Peebee didn’t have favourite students, but a young Salarian named Renji quickly became hers. As mischievous as he was passionate, he devoured every grain of wisdom and experience that Peebee had to offer. When she looked into those wonderfilled dark eyes, she saw a little of herself reflected back. She taught him for over a decade before he headed off to work at the new museum on Aya. Each week the pair sent each other letters talking about new artifacts that had been excavated, what exhibitions were being planned, departmental scandals, the usual stuff. It was their Thursday afternoon ritual for a little over a decade, or it was until last week.

She knew straight away that something was wrong when he didn’t write to her. She was about to call his apartment when the message came through on the Comm channel notifying her of his death. The funeral had been yesterday. Peebee had choked back the tears as she read his eulogy before skulking off to the nearest bar in a bid to kill the pain.

Here in the present Peebee can still taste the lingering flavour of bile from the last round of vomiting. The smell of stale sick in the nearby waste bin that’s served as a vomit bowl through the night makes her stomach turn again. She’s in no fit state to get off of the sofa so she tries to distract herself by playing with her omnitool. It’s then with a loud “oh fuck” that she realises she’s drunk dialled Lexi. She's got no recollection of the conversation, but suspects that the would be matron is probably on her way to Meridian this very moment. She’s proved right as the door hisses open to reveal the doctor “I’m so sorry Peebee. I came as soon as I could.”

Lexi empties and cleans the sick bowl while the recover shot she's given Peebee kicks in. As the younger Asari sits up she's taken aback by Lexi’s attire, baggy harem pants and one of her bondmate’s hoodies. Peebee wonders if she got dressed in the dark. Lexi presses a glass of water into her hand “Drink this it’ll help.”

Peebee very much doubts it, but drinks it anyway. She wonders what Lexi is going to say. Is it going to be a lecture that at almost 200, she should know better? Maybe a referral to a therapist? No, what comes next is a surprise “It’s shit isn’t it. Having to say goodbye.”

It's not a question but a statement. It really is shit. “Whoever said it gets easy as we get older was a liar.”

Peebee nods, she doesn’t trust herself to speak yet and her throat feels like shes gargled with razor blades from all the crying she's done. It dawns on her that Lexi lost her best friend Harry, the two had been friends for decades. His funeral was the last time that all of the Tempest crew had been together, well the ones that were left. There had been no Kallo, no Drack and the crew the majority of the crew that remained were showing their age, though Ryder’s greying hair gave her a rather distinguished look.

Lexi sits herself down next to Peebee and pulls her in tight, her warmth and gentleness reassuring. Through chapped lips Peebee speaks weakly “I know that life is supposed to be full of beginnings and ends, hellos and goodbyes, but it feels like I’m saying goodbye way too much. It hurts like hell. How the fuck am I gonna hold it together when we lose people like Ryder?”

Peebee tries to swallow the growing lump in her throat, Lexi shakes her head “You don’t. You grieve, you own your hurt and work your way through it as best you can. If you can’t there are people that will help you.”

Peebee exhales hard trying to hold off the tears “I know, I know. It’s just right now everything’s so raw. Everything hurts so fucking much! And, and I sit here and I think I’m so done with endings. I want, no, I need..”

As Peebee surrenders to the tears Lexi finishes her sentence for her “to say hello for once instead of goodbye.”

Between tears Peebee says “Yeah that one.”

For the first time since she walked into Peebee’s apartment, Lexi smiles “That I can help you with.”

She takes Peebee’s right hand with her own, using her left to pull up the hoody and loose fit top that she’s wearing. She puts Peebee’s hand on her rounding abdomen “I was going to tell you next month when you came to visit, but now seems as good at time as any. Peebee, I’d like you to meet your goddaughter Kara Harri T’Perro.”

Now it's Peebee’s turn to smile “You’re? I’m? Come here!”

The friends hug, Peebee is still crying, but joyful tears help balance out the ones shed in sorrow.  
She lays down with her head on Lexi’s lap and addresses the bump “Hello Kara, I’m your Aunty Peebee.”

Kara kicks directly where Peebee’s hand is as if to say hello back. Before long, Peebee’s having a full blown conversation with her goddaughter to be. The blue bump kicks and wiggles as if to agree with her godmother’s hairbrained plans for the future. It’s at the point that Peebee mentions dating advice that Lexi groans and says “I’m going to live to regret this aren’t I?”

Peebee shoots her a mischievous grin “All signs point to yes.”

 

 

 


End file.
